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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDepartment Head Meetings Minutes 08.10.2010MINUTES DEPARTMENT BEAD MEETING AUGUST 10, 2010 3:00 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS PRESENT: Bill Sheridan James Caniglia Rick Musson Sam Painter Kurt Markegard Gary Colley Shirley Ewan Nancy Schmidt Jan Faught Council Workshop Agenda — August 10, 2010 General items Bresnan Communications: Franchise agreement Sam recently had a telephone conference with Sean from Bresnan. After making the changes to the franchise agreement, Sam e-mailed it to him but has not received a response. Fire Department: • Ordinance — Miscellaneous fire protection regulations Gary will attend tonight's council workshop to provide an explanation of the proposed changes to the ordinance. Planning: • Resolution — Vacate alley between Laurmac Subdivision Lot 1 and Ward Subdivision Lot 13 The resolution of intent was approved on August P and this resolution is for vacation of the alley as requested by Randy Swenson of Tender Nest. Notice has been published in the newspaper. • Laurel Urban Renewal Agency recommendations: o $4,000 to Laurel Town Square Mural Project for public improvements o $4,000 for match reimbursement to Planning for title search and surveying of proposed Historic District Sam prepared an opinion regarding the legality of the two items for TIFD funding. The opinion states that the items are not illegal and the council must make the final decisions regarding funding. Public Works Department: • Resolution — Engagement Letter with Dorsey & Whitney • Resolution — Intent to create SID for SE 4t' Street The resolutions will be removed from tonight's agenda, as Dorsey & Whitney is still working on issues regarding fair assessment of the parcels. Executive Review: • Resolution — Temporary Clerk/Treasurer contract Bill stated that this is a formality that needs council approval. • Discussion regarding fireworks The discussion is on tonight's agenda. • Discussion regarding procedure for public hearing on water rates Department Head Meeting Minutes of August 10, 2010 Sam stated that Brad Molnar suggested that there should be a neutral hearings examiner. There will be no cross examination at the hearing. Sam stated that having a hearings examiner could be a good idea for the city, as a hearings examiner would only accept relevant evidence and would not accept accusations. The cost would be about $600. • Council Issues: o Murray Park (Chuck Dickerson) Kurt stated that grass needs to be reseeded and/or sod replaced in Murray Park. The contractors have been contacted. o Park Maintenance District in Elena Subdivision (Chuck Dickerson) James needs to schedule and send invitations for a meeting with the property owners for discussion regarding a park maintenance district. James has a list of property owners and will prepare a letter. There was discussion regarding the number of houses, condos, and ownership of the properties. James thinks it will be tricky to figure out who pays what with regard to location and size of the lots. o Hole in the road on South First Avenue (Chuck Dickerson) Kurt stated that MDT fixed the hole. The city does not address MDT issues. Other items There were none. Department Reports: Clerk/Treasurer Shirley met with Mayor Olson to review the budget today, and Bill and Shirley will meet with him again tomorrow. Kurt asked if the Building Codes would be its own entity now, since none of his wages are paid out of the fund. Shirley stated that it is legal for Kurt to be the department head without being funded out of the fund. Fire There was no discussion. Ambulance Jan stated that the primary rig is in the shop with transmission issues, and Care 2 is now the primary rig. Bill asked regarding a document that needs to be completed for Medicare. Jan will have to start over with the document and will work on it this week. Library The library has been very busy and no computers were available yesterday. Nancy is working on providing a video conference area in the back room of the library. The cost of $4,600 would come from donations and the Friends of the Library. The library roof is done and the gutter issue was fixed yesterday. The city should receive the bill soon and can be paid now. 2 Department Head Meeting Minutes of August 10, 2010 • Status of City of Laurel's website Nancy is working on the website. Nancy recently contacted Ted Thronson at MDT regarding the driveway approach at the library, and it should be finished today or tomorrow. Police Department Rick mentioned that his first granddaughter was born last week, and he is a proud grandpa. Joel Sauter has completed his 14 -day suspension and will return to work tomorrow. B -Pad testing is scheduled at the end of August, and a police officer should be hired in September. City Planner • Historic Register James is waiting to hear from the Park Service. James stated that, if the Riverside Park buildings were on the Historic Register, it would be a higher priority to address the issues at the park. The contractor estimated that it would cost $10,000 to research and get those buildings on the National Register. There was discussion regarding tax credits for major renovations. Bill asked James to get more information and then make a presentation to the council. James is working on the bid for the energy efficiency grant project. • Medical marijuana issue James sent a letter telling the illegal marijuana grower on 126' Street to cease operation. James and a police officer will visit the site soon. James met with The Crossings today regarding the bus transit service and the possibility of partnering to provide a contract to pay the city to coordinate bus services into Billings. Public Works Department • Status of Main Street from 1" to 8d' Avenues (Dorsey & Whitney) o CTEP / billing property owners The SID needs to be funded with an intercap loan for $37,000. Shirley suggested that the funds could be borrowed from another city fund for five years at 5.5 percent interest. Bill asked Shirley to write down the suggestion. Kurt, Shirley, Sam and Dan Semmens need to schedule a conference call for further discussion. • SE 4`" Street SID Kurt stated that the proposed SID is progressing slowly. • Status of Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrade (98% complete) Kurt stated that training for the generators and lift stations is scheduled on Friday at 1:00 p.m The project is almost finished. • Water line across the bridge Chad Hanson is preparing the cost estimates. The water fund budget needs to be reviewed. 3 Department Head Meeting Minutes of August 10, 2010 • Neptune water meters Kurt stated that there were 18 broken meters last month. A representative from Johnson Controls will be in Laurel on Monday. • Cast iron pipe Kurt stated that the budget needs to be reviewed for this project. The Army Corps of Engineers was in Laurel last week. The ownership of the failing levy needs to be determined, and Kurt has been talking to many people. The majority of riverbed is owned by the State of Montana. Kurt will continue to research this. Kurt will attend a River Symposium in Billings on August 19'11 and 20`h. Kurt has been dealing with issues regarding the 8d' Avenue and Main Street projects. The Elm Lift Station was sterilized last Friday and there are no smells yet. The pool will be open until 8:00 p.m for the next two Sundays. It will cost about $120 for four people for the additional hours. The pool is scheduled to close on August 22nd, as school starts on August 261'. Kurt had Jares Fence submit a quote for fencing at the water plant, and the road would be closed off. The Sheriffs Office, MDT, Fire Department and CHS want the road closed to traffic. Kurt stated that the city needs to decide whether to close the road. The city has a private easement across the land, and CHS currently owns the land. The Sheriffs Department and CHS are requesting federal grant funds to close the road. City Attorney There was no discussion. Manor Olson • City's lease of railroad property on Main Street for various uses There was no discussion. Chief Administrative Officer • Recycling program IGA now has two bins in the parking lot to recycle newspaper, cardboard and cans. Wal-Mart recycles glass bottles. Other Kurt stated that the City of Livingston is interested in purchasing the city's old roll off truck. There was discussion regarding price. The meeting adjourned at 3:53 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Cindy Allen Council Secretary 4